Good Morning Viet Nam!!! Saturday Night in Saigon

We are in Ho Chi Ming City formerly known as and still known by many as Saigon. We flew in by Viet Nam Airways to a city that is surprisingly modern, vibrant and relatively clean. Brushed up on my bartering skills and hit the market for some feisty and amusing negotiating with the local stall proprietors. One shirt started at 500,000 VND but in the end got two for 400,000VND and then got her to throw in another for 150,000VND. Good fun and some nice shirts to boot.

The following morning, we were back on the bus, for a 2 hour drive to visit the Cu Chi tunnels where the Viet Cong hid out during the war, controlling an area between Saigon to the Cambodian border. It was a very interesting morning. I couldn’t crawl through the tunnels as some of our fellow travellers did, due to my concerns over claustrophobia, no light in the tunnel and the sweltering heat. These Viet Cong were committed. I would have raised the white flag and said take me to your leader. The conditions were just appalling.  They hid in the tunnels during the bombing at night and worked in the rice paddies during the day. Upon our return to HCMC we went to the War Remnants Museum, a graphic pictorial history of the American war. Obviously extremely slanted in their version but nevertheless the propaganda was not totally without merit. The atrocities were outlandish but both sides were guilty even though it was the Viet Nam version portrayed. The Agent Orange exhibition pictorial left a real impression on me.

Up and at ‘em next morning for our tour of the Mekong Delta. We arrived at the river and boarded a 20 passenger long boat for a tour of this vast body of water with grape vine floating all about us. After stopping at a local village we did the tour of the local candy shop where production was in full swing. They would puff the rice in metal woks filled with hot water over a wood fire. The puffed rice was caramelized and packed into small squares just like Rice Krispie treats. There were other concussions of peanut, banana and sesame bars all individually hand wrapped. Very labour intensive. For lunch Jennifer had grilled Elephant Ear fish from the Mekong. She really enjoyed it. I took the pictures. Back onto the boat where we later transferred over to the row boat version down one of the tributaries. (see Youtube video link)  http://youtu.be/xbRvKbjhIbk Another full day. Can’t wait for a big Tiger beer on the front street terrace of our hotel watching the traffic. (See 2^nd Youtube video link) http://youtu.be/bYR-NiqMvrw

Hoi An "I Love You"

It is a wonderful place but lord knows why our tour guide kept referring to it as Hoi An I love you, when it is clearly just Hoi An on the map. It was a welcome break after 3 1/2 weeks on the road to check into a very pleasant hotel with a fresh water swimming pool and a view overlooking all of the activity on the street below as well as time to catch up on the chinese laundry for $1 per kilo. This charming retreat is about 25 km south of Da Nang (see locator link) and about 4 km inland from the never ending white sand beaches on the shore of the China Sea.

This charming retreat is a mecca for made to measure silk suits. $95US for a two piece custom fitted perfectly styled, perfectly fitted Moores suit. Jennifer took advantage while we were here, to update her wardrobe. I, on the other hand was bartering with the merchants at the local market for the daily shirt specials as they weren't going to be here tomorrow to offer me that ever elusive deal. Looky, looky, cheap, cheap!

I went for my first run in about 4 weeks and managed to get lost. You know the motto "Don't leave home without it". Well I left the hotel without the business card of the hotel as there was no pocket in my running shorts. I learned the hard way but that's a story for another day.

Bike rental was the order of the day with three separate outings through the rice paddy fields to the beaches. This area is about to explode as a resort destination. The charm of the locals is evidenced by my restaurant video. http://youtu.be/E9ntOTtmpNg and a visit to a lantern store where the mother and daughter taught Jennifer the art of lantern making. They invited us to dinner at their home/store that night but alas we had already made arrangements to meet up with the group to do a sunset boat ride on the Song River. I organized and negotiated the 30,000 Dong per person ($1.50) excursion which lasted about 45 minutes.

We hated to leave, but alas we headed out for the spanking brand new International airport in Da Nang for our 1Hr 10 minute flight to Ho Chi Ming City aka Saigon.

Hell's Angels - Viet Nam Chapter

Arriving in Hue at 6:30 am after our 15 hour journey we immediately headed for our hotel and a shower before venturing out for breakfast. Upon our return we were met by a gang of Vietnamese scooter bikers who were to be our chauffeurs for the next 8 hours. (see video) As a biker bitch I did not a envision myself mounted on the rear of my driver Vian's, 150cc Kawasaki special. $12 for the day and what a day it turned out to be. We were 15 in our group, all mounted, helmets on and ready to head out at the kamakawsi command of our tour leader. Out to visit the country side and rice paddies before coming upon our first destination which was a local farmer's market where it couldn't get more authentic. No tour busses here and let’s hope they keep it that way. Other stops of interest were a visit to a rice growing museum, hat making by a handicapped woman (Jennifer bought two) a visit to a bunker overlooking the Perfume River and an incense making demonstration.

Back on board we made our way through the town on the way to the Buddhist Temple on the Perfume River.  For those old enough to remember this is where the car is housed which drove the 66 year old Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc to Saigon in 1963, where he sat down in the lotus position and fellow monks doused him with petrol and set him alight to protest against the heavy handed government of the day.

Lunch was organised at a local nunnery where vegetarian was the order of the day. Yes I ate tofu and just pretended it was curried chicken. Ah well, when in Rome. Back on the bikes and more touring the Citadel which was modelled on Beijing’s Forbidden City. The day was capped off with a trip to the local coliseum where elephants and tigers did battle to keep the elephant fighting skills up to par during times of peace. The elephants always won as they put a two to one ratio of elephants to tigers in the ring. Great day and the most fun had by all so far!!

It’s a Wonder...... Halong Bay

We were at the end of the first leg of the trip and the beginning of the second when we said goodbye to three of our travelling companions and were joined by 12 new ones. Two Irish (1M 1F) from County Cork, 4 (F) Danes, 1(M) 1(F) Brits, 1(M) American, 1(F) German, (1M 1F)Canadians. Our four hour bus ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay was uneventful until the massive protrusions started to appear on the horizon. Situated eighty kilometres south of the Chinese border we come upon Halong Bay which was voted online as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Jennifer best describe it as St. Lucia Pitons on steroids. We are met by a tender which is to ferry us to our ship which will be our home for the next 24 hours. Wonderful accommodations and a backdrop setting of huge misty  enshrouded mountain peaks surrounded by a beautiful, clear, green bay water  which has been declared a UN Heritage Site. The first few hours were spent cruising before disembarking to explore a fabulous cavernous cave. Truly astounding!! Pictures au bout and a constant stream of never ending panoramic vistas. The camera was on overdrive today. A delicious onboard dinner before retiring to our most comfortable cabin with huge windows to take in the night view of the other gaily lit ships surrounding us. We both agreed the bed was the most comfortable and the sleep the most relaxing since we had arrived.

Up at seven to catch the tender over to a secluded beach and a steep hike up a mountain to view the 360 degree view of the bay. In a word, spectacular! Back on board for breakfast and the cruise back to shore for disembarkation and the next road trip, back to Hanoi and our 15 hour night train to Hue. The train itself was a relic and despite the terrible condition our car was in it appeared to be first class compared to what many of the local people were travelling in. Surprisingly I got some sleep after having played “I spy with my little eye” and “My Grandmother’s Trunk” with some of our new travelling companions. 

Hello Hanoi

After having walked down the Champs de L’Eysée and visited the Arc de Triumphe (I swear to God that’s what they call it in Vientiane) we headed for the airport to catch our 55 minute Lao Airlines flight to Hanoi, Viet Nam. I reflected for a few minutes on how we were leaving a country which was the most heavily bombed ever in the history of mankind, for the country which was at the root of the cause of the Viet Nam War. I consider myself lucky that I never had to endure a conflict so brutally senseless and unforgiving.

Hanoi!! What can I say? Absolutely insane!! The traffic here is the most unbelievable mishmash of scooters, taxis, bicycle rickshaws and bicycles. Honking, cutting and crossing anyone and everyone who gets in the way of the general direction they are headed. It’s everyone for oneself. When you cross the street don’t stop once you mentally prepare yourself to walk blindly and faithfully entering into no man’s land. (See my accompanying video for a play by play enactment) Dinner that night was in a family run authentic theme setting off a side street. The room was narrow and the furnishing were basic.  It gave me the feeling that I could have been sitting in an opium den with lights dimmed, antique bird cages swinging, and the ceiling fans turning slowly.

The following morning after having been awoken by loudspeakers playing Vietnamese music and the morning propaganda speeches, we spent going to visit Uncle Ho in his mausoleum at the People’s Republic Square, where the palace is situated as well as Ho Chi Minh’s residence. It was very eerie lining up in single file and watched over by the Viet Nam army guard. No talking, no photographs, no hats as we filed passed the pale corpse of Ho with a scruffy chin beard, the face highlighted by a spot light, lying enclosed in a glass case. Just the thought of stepping out of line made my skin crawl thinking I could end up in the now closed Hanoi Hilton where captured US Air force personnel were kept in prison and tortured during the war.

The French quarter of Hanoi is an eclectic quagmire of a market with everything available from live chickens in cages, fish in plastic pales, fresh meat of every description lying out in the open air and any other bizarre edible you could imagine. Beautiful fresh flowers, textiles, pots, pans and numerous salesmen chasing after you trying to sell you a Zippo lighter. I even saw a man smoking opium discreetly with his long wooden pipe. The lake in the center of town brought on a festive mood with large balloons and streamers flying over head. We could have spent a few more days there just soaking up the unique atmosphere. Harsh and unnerving at first encounter but exciting and alive with the more contact you experienced.